Conversations with Sydney Margetson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Margetson.

Hi Sydney, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey into the music business really started while I was a student at Howard University in Washington, DC. I originally went to Howard as a finance major, following in my older brother’s footsteps, but I quickly realized finance wasn’t where my passion was. I had always been fascinated by music, artists and entertainment, especially the way artists connected with the public through television and interviews. I just didn’t know there was an actual career built around that.

While at Howard, I started interning and finding any way I could to get experience in the record business. I spent a summer interning at multiple Record companies working in different department such as radio promotion, street promotion, retail and video promotion. Those experiences allowed me to understand the business from several different sides.

One of my earliest experiences was working with Wanda Hayes, who was the Mid Atlantic regional promotions manager at Mercury Records. She gave me the opportunity to help work several radio stations in Washington, D.C. and really became one of my first mentors in the business.

Around that same time, Mercury had a new artist named Joe. Before his first promotional visit to Howard, I put together a street team and we literally covered the campus with signs that simply said “JOE.” We slipped flyers under dorm room doors and created this mystery around who Joe was before people even heard the music. Looking back, that was probably my first real publicity campaign, even though I didn’t know to call it that at the time.

What I did know was that I wanted to work closely with artists. I wanted to help shape how they presented themselves, come up with creative ideas to get people talking about them and prepare them for interviews and opportunities. Eventually I discovered that what I was describing was publicity.

At the end of 1996, I got my opportunity to work at Atlantic Records which changed my life.

I worked my way up through Atlantic, from assistant to coordinator, director, vice president and eventually senior vice president. During my more than two decades there, I had the opportunity to work with an incredible range of artists and be part of campaigns that helped shape their careers. I learned how to break new artists, manage major album campaigns, navigate television and media, handle difficult moments and, most importantly, build relationships that last.

Eventually, I reached a point where I wanted to take everything I had learned and build something of my own. I launched SGM Unlimited Public Relations, which has allowed me to expand beyond the traditional record label structure and work across music, film, television, entertainment and brands.

Relocating from the New York area to Los Angeles also opened another chapter for me. After spending so much of my career in the music industry, being in Los Angeles has allowed me to continue that work while becoming even more involved in film and television.

When I look at where I am today, I can trace it all the way back to that kid at Howard who knew he wanted to be in the music business but didn’t necessarily know what his job was going to be. I just kept showing up, learning, building relationships and taking advantage of every opportunity that came my way.

30 years later, I’m still doing what excited me in the beginning: helping talented people tell their stories and making sure the world knows who they are.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not. I don’t think anyone can spend almost 30 years in the entertainment business and say it has been a completely smooth road.

One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to evolve. The music industry I entered in the 1990s is completely different from the industry today. I started when magazines, newspapers, radio and television were the primary ways we introduced artists to the public. Then came the internet, blogs, social media, streaming, podcasts and now content creators and influencers. I’ve had to constantly learn, adjust and stay relevant without losing the fundamentals of what makes someone good at publicity: relationships, creativity, instincts and knowing how to tell a great story.

There were also moments throughout my career when I questioned what was next for me. I spent more than two decades at Atlantic Records, and when you’ve been part of one company and one culture for that long, it becomes a huge part of your identity. Stepping away from that and eventually building SGM Unlimited meant starting a new chapter where my name, my relationships and my reputation had to stand on their own. There was no major record label behind me anymore. I had to become an entrepreneur and learn that side of the business as well.

Relocating to Los Angeles was another major transition. I had spent most of my life and career on the East Coast, so moving across the country meant rebuilding parts of my life while also expanding professionally into film and television. It was exciting, but it also required me to get comfortable with being uncomfortable again.

There have been disappointments, campaigns that didn’t go the way I hoped, opportunities I thought I deserved but didn’t get, and times when I had to figure out my next move. This business can humble you very quickly. You can have an incredible year and still wake up the next morning having to prove yourself all over again.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a publicist, strategist and the founder of SGM Unlimited Public Relations. I’ve spent nearly 30 years helping artists, actors, filmmakers and other creatives tell their stories, build their profiles and connect with audiences through the media.

Music is where I started and will always be a big part of who I am professionally. I spent more than two decades at Atlantic Records, eventually becoming Senior Vice President of Publicity. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with artists at every stage of their careers, from developing new talent to working with established and global superstars. Today, through SGM Unlimited, my work has expanded further into film, television and lifestyle.

I specialize in creating publicity campaigns that feel specific to the person or project. I’ve never believed in sending out a press release and calling that a campaign. I look for the story. Why should people care? What is interesting about this artist beyond the song? What makes this client different? What conversation can we create around the project? From there, I figure out which media platforms make sense and how we can position the client in a way that feels authentic.

I think one of the things I’m known for is relationships. I’ve built relationships with journalists, producers, talent bookers and media executives over decades, and many of those relationships have also become friendships. But having someone’s phone number or email address only gets you so far. You still have to know what they are looking for and bring them something that makes sense for their audience.

What sets me apart is that I bring major corporation experience and resources to an independent environment. I understand what it takes to run a campaign at the highest level, but I also understand that every client doesn’t have a major budget or a huge team behind them. Sometimes you have to be more creative, more strategic and make every opportunity count.

I’m also very hands on. I don’t believe that any client should feel like they are just another name on a roster. I pay attention to the details. I’m constantly thinking about the next angle, the next outlet and the next opportunity.

What I’m most proud of is the longevity. I’ve watched this industry completely transform, and I’m still here doing something I genuinely enjoy. I’m proud of the artists and projects I’ve helped introduce to the world, the careers I’ve been able to contribute to and the relationships I’ve maintained along the way.

But I’m equally proud that after leaving the corporate side of the business, I was able to bet on myself and build SGM Unlimited. Starting my own company gave me the opportunity to take everything I learned throughout my career and do it on my own terms.

How do you think about luck?
I definitely believe luck has played a role in my life and career, but I also believe you have to be prepared when that luck shows up.

I’ve been fortunate to have certain people cross my path at exactly the right time. While I was at Howard University, meeting people like Roceania Williams and Wanda Hayes at Mercury Records gave me opportunities and prepared me for what was to come. They trusted me, mentored me and allowed me to get real experience working records while I was still a student. That eventually helped me understand where I belonged in the music business.

Getting my opportunity at Atlantic Records was another moment where timing, luck and preparation all came together. I was trying to figure out how to get someone’s attention, which is why I created an audio résumé instead of doing what everyone else was doing. That résumé got into the right hands, but I still had to be ready when the door opened. What started as an assistant position turned into a career of more than two decades at the company.

I’ve also been incredibly lucky with relationships. Some of the people and employers I met early in my career like Chrissy Murray, Sharon Washington and Sheila Richman are still part of my life today. In publicity, relationships are everything, but they have to be genuine. I never approached people thinking about what they could do for me 10 or 20 years later.

There has been bad luck too. There have been opportunities that disappeared, projects that didn’t work out, changes in the industry that were completely outside of my control and moments when I had to unexpectedly rethink what came next. At the time, some of those experiences felt like setbacks. Looking back, a few of them actually pushed me toward something I might not have pursued otherwise.

So yes, I believe in luck. I’ve been in the right place at the right time more than once. But I also believe that luck can open a door and still leave it up to you to walk through it. I’ve tried to build my career by being prepared when those doors opened, working hard once I got inside and never assuming another opportunity was guaranteed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sgmunlimited.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgmunlimitedpr/?hl=en

Image Credits
Mirror Photo Studio